Chapter 31: Buying Clothes

Although Jiang Liyun thought about selling fried chicken, she wasn’t in a hurry.

Selling fried chicken, like selling pan-fried dumplings, required preparation.

Moreover, while she could set up a stall for selling pan-fried dumplings and fried chicken, it would be best to rent a house in town.

As Jiang Liyun contemplated selling fried chicken, she returned to the pan-fried dumpling stall. She noticed Feng Yi wasn’t there, but someone who frequently bought pan-fried dumplings was chatting with Wu Xiaochun.

Wu Xiaochun was introverted; she wouldn’t initiate conversations, but if someone approached her, she would certainly respond.

The person was asking her questions, and she was trying her best to respond.

Seeing Jiang Liyun, Wu Xiaochun breathed a sigh of relief. “My daughter is back. If you have questions, ask her.”

“Hello, is there something you need?” Jiang Liyun asked with a smile.

“Not really; I just wanted to ask where you got this word from,” the person inquired.

“This was brought to me by someone from the city. I don’t know where they bought it,” Jiang Liyun replied.

“Oh, I see…” The person seemed a bit disappointed, exchanged a few more words with Jiang Liyun, and then hurriedly left.

Once he was gone, Jiang Liyun asked Wu Xiaochun, “Mum, what did he ask you?”

“He was asking where we bought the pork,” Wu Xiaochun replied.

Hearing this, Jiang Liyun knew the person was likely interested in learning from them and starting a pan-fried dumpling business.

After setting up the pan-fried dumpling stall, many people expressed interest in learning.

In the 1960s and 1970s, China experienced a baby boom.

Jiang Lihai, Jiang Liping, and herself were all born during this baby boom.

And now, at this point in time, this generation has grown up.

Unfortunately, at this time, there were very few job opportunities available in the country, leaving many people idle.

In their Qiaotou Village, unemployed young people were abundant. In the past, these young individuals might have worked in the fields, but times had changed, and now everyone wanted to earn money.

Those born in the 1960s, like Jiang Liyun, had experienced hardships and desired financial stability. They were willing to take on various laborious jobs as long as it meant earning money.

For instance, in her previous life, when Jiang Lihai passed away in his sixties, he still couldn’t sit idle and helped others with various tasks. Many of his peers in Qiaotou Village, aged around fifty or sixty, were still working on construction sites.

At this point in time, there were people like Jiang Lihai who felt that setting up a stall was not favourable, but there were also those who were eager to make money and were willing to set up stalls in the town.

After the success of raising white feather chickens, villagers rushed to engage in this venture. If selling pan-fried dumplings could bring in profits, others naturally wanted to try it too.

In the town, there were several street vendors selling steamed buns and dumplings. When she was in the village before, people approached her wanting to learn how to make pan-fried dumplings, but she declined.

Now, with people inquiring about making pan-fried dumplings, it seemed perfectly normal for them to set up stalls.

Jiang Liyun wouldn’t actively teach others to make pan-fried dumplings, but honestly, she couldn’t stop others from following suit.

In her previous life, when she first started selling in the town, she initially sold items that others were already selling. Setting up a stall was genuinely tough; some people would find it too challenging and quit after a while. However, for those who persisted, making some hard-earned money was inevitable.

Being the first to sell pan-fried dumplings in the town gave Jiang Liyun an advantage with customers. She didn’t share her speculations with Wu Xiaochun and the others. Seeing that the pan-fried dumplings were sold out, she began packing up.

It was at this moment that Feng Yi returned.

Jiang Liyun glanced in the direction he came from, realising he had probably gone to the restroom. The morning had been too busy, and Feng Yi hadn’t had time to go earlier.

“Li Yun, did you read the newspaper?” Feng Yi smiled upon seeing Jiang Liyun.

“Yes, I did. Today, I want to buy a newspaper. Do you want to come with me?” Jiang Liyun suggested.

“Sure,” Feng Yi agreed.

Jiang Liyun took some money and went to buy newspapers with Feng Yi.

On the way, she glanced at the clothing stalls on the roadside. When she first started her second life, she considered selling clothes. However, the town already had plenty of people selling clothes on stalls, and she didn’t have a suitable source of goods, so she abandoned the idea.

In her previous life, before Jiang Liyun’s death, the country was in a state of overproduction, resulting in certain items being extremely cheap. For example, she once bought disposable socks for only one yuan per pair and found the quality surprisingly good.

Things were different now; the current era faced limitations in productivity, making clothes and shoes relatively expensive.

Feng Yi had very few clothes, and they didn’t fit well. Jiang Liyun wanted to buy him a few sets, but unfortunately, her finances were tight at the moment.

“Sister Liyun, are you buying clothes? This one looks nice!” Feng Yi pointed to a garment adorned with big red flowers.

Jiang Liyun: “…”. What a peculiar taste in fashion!

Although such clothes were indeed favoured by many people of her ge, Every time she visited Qiaotou Village in her previous life, she would see elderly women in the village wearing similar outfits.

Jiang Liyun didn’t plan to buy clothes; Jiang Liping had left her some old ones that she could wear. However, she intended to buy some underwear and socks.

In her previous life, she didn’t have proper underwear before getting married. She would cut off the legs of worn-out pants and sew them into makeshift underwear.

As for bras, she didn’t have them either; when she was young, she wore self-made chest wraps!

After her rebirth, she had considered buying these items, but at that time, there were many other expenses, so she refrained from spending money.

Now that she had some money, she could afford it. There were many stalls selling clothes, most of them spreading plastic sheets on the ground to display the items. Some more sophisticated ones used bamboo beds to showcase their clothes.

These bamboo beds were inexpensive because bamboo was cheap. Among the vendors, Jiang Liyun recognised an old acquaintance she used to buy underwear from in her previous life.

Approaching the stall, Jiang Liyun picked up three pairs of underwear, three pieces of lingerie, and three pairs of socks for herself. After choosing her items, she glanced at Feng Yi and bought him three pairs of underwear and three pairs of socks as well.

After paying, Jiang Liyun handed the purchased items to Feng Yi to hold while she continued walking ahead. After a few steps, she realised Feng Yi hadn’t followed and turned back, asking, “Why aren’t you walking?”

Feng Yi, as if waking from a dream, quickly caught up with Jiang Liyun.

At this moment, Jiang Liyun also noticed something off with Feng Yi—his face was blushing excessively.

She instantly understood that Feng Yi was feeling shy.

Jiang Liyun found it somewhat amusing, and she had the strong urge to laugh.

For her, buying underwear for herself and Feng Yi was a completely normal thing to do. Feng Yi didn’t pay much attention to what he wore, and in her previous life, she always took care of buying his clothes.

At that time, people could openly discuss which brand of underwear was comfortable.

But now…

Buying these things in front of Feng Yi might be a bit overwhelming for him.

Jiang Liyun was right; Feng Yi was practically burning up all over at the moment!

When Jiang Liyun started choosing underwear for herself, Feng Yi couldn’t bring himself to look.

He used to avoid passing by such stalls altogether!

However, Jiang Liyun not only bought for herself but also picked out underwear for him!

Handpicked by Jiang Liyun herself!

To make matters more awkward, Jiang Liyun handed all the purchased items to him to carry.

Thinking about holding items that included Jiang Liyun’s intimate clothing, Feng Yi dared not move.

In the midst of the embarrassment, he met Jiang Liyun’s smiling eyes, and Feng Yi, blushing, lowered his head and said, “Sister Liyun…”

Jiang Liyun reached out and pinched Feng Yi’s cheek. “Let’s go!”

Seeing Feng Yi like this made her genuinely want to tease him a bit!

Jiang Liyun knew where to find newspapers.

There was an old man in the town who ran a rental bookstore at his home. Besides renting books, people could also read and buy newspapers there.

Jiang Liyun entered a narrow alley and saw a few old books placed in front of a door. Upon entering, she noticed several children sitting on chairs, engrossed in reading comic books.

The rental bookstore offered various comic books. The old man didn’t allow people to flip through them freely. If a child wanted to read a specific book, they had to pay him a penny first. Once paid, the child could read the book but had to return it when finished.

Jiang Liyun remembered that Jiang Liyu loved reading comic books. In her previous life, after getting married, she occasionally brought Jiang Liyu to town, and she would come here to read.

Jiang Liyun bought a newspaper from the old man who ran the rental bookstore, the one that had the news about KFC opening in town.

After some thought, she also bought a comic book about Huo Yuanjia.

At this time, Jiang Liyu was unaware of the existence of the rental bookstore in town, so she probably hadn’t read this particular book.

With the purchases in hand, Jiang Liyun continued to have Feng Yi carry them, and Feng Yi, still in a dazed state, held the items without moving, staring straight at Jiang Liyun.

Jiang Liyun smiled and led him back home.

During the journey home, Feng Yi remained silent.

Worried, Wu Xiaochun asked Jiang Liyun, “Did you two have an argument?”

Jiang Liyun couldn’t help but laugh. “We didn’t argue.”

After laughing, she asked Feng Yi, “Feng Yi, did we have an argument?”

Feng Yi turned his head, hastily saying, “No, no, we didn’t argue.”

Wu Xiaochun wasn’t entirely convinced, while Feng Yi, with his head lowered, emphasised once again, “We didn’t argue. Sister Liyun is very good, really good.”

Sister Liyun actually bought him underwear! And she even asked him to hold her intimate items!

Feng Yi wanted a house more than ever. With a house, they could get married! He really wanted to get married!

His demeanour didn’t seem angry; instead, he looked more like a shy bride. Wu Xiaochun decided to keep silent.

When they arrived home, Jiang Liyu was washing vegetables.

Today was Sunday, and Jiang Liyu had a day off.

They hadn’t taken her when they went to set up the stall in the morning since Jiang Liyu was still asleep, and she hadn’t expressed any desire to go to town. Jiang Liyun suspected that Wu Xiaochun might have privately instructed Jiang Liyu not to go to town to avoid distracting her.

“Big sister!” Seeing Jiang Liyun, Jiang Liyu smiled and greeted her.

“Little Rain, I bought a comic book for you.” Jiang Liyun handed the comic book to Jiang Liyu.

“Thank you, sister!” Jiang Liyu was extremely delighted. She didn’t have any extracurricular books, and her classmates who played well didn’t have any either.

Next door, Feng Xiaoxiao did have some comic books, given by her brother, but she didn’t let them read.

Now, Jiang Liyu also had a comic book, which was great!

Jiang Liyu couldn’t wait to start reading her new comic book.

While Jiang Liyun quickly prepared dinner, she instructed Feng Yi to buy a white-feathered chicken—tonight, they were having chicken for dinner.

“I feel like having chicken again.” Wu Xiaochun wanted to object.

“Mum, I want to eat it.” Jiang Liyun insisted.

As the money was earned by Jiang Liyun, Wu Xiaochun couldn’t really stop her, even if she wanted to. She just sighed without saying anything more.

For lunch today, Jiang Liyun made fried tofu with radish, minced meat with fried eggs, stir-fried dried tofu with shepherd’s purse, and a soup with meat-stuffed tofu, small greens, jiaobai (a type of Chinese vegetable), and dumplings.

After the satisfying meal, Jiang Liyun washed and hung up the underwear she had bought.

Wu Xiaochun was shocked when she saw it and insisted she should hang them inside the house. “You can’t hang these things outside.”

Jiang Liyun replied, “It’s not easy for them to dry inside.” The southern climate was humid, and her house had mud walls surrounded by mud, so drying clothes indoors was not the most effective method.

“But you can’t let others see them like this.” Wu Xiaochun was concerned.

Jiang Liyun didn’t mind being seen. In the modern era, many people wore bikinis to the beach. What was wrong with drying some clothes? However, considering Wu Xiaochun’s concerns, Jiang Liyun put some other clothes next to them to cover them.

At this moment, Jiang Liyun started thinking about having a proper house. In her own house, whether she was drying clothes or doing anything else, there would be no need to worry about others’ opinions.

Actually, the rural areas at this time were not particularly conservative. Throughout her life, she had heard a lot of vulgar language, and there was even a woman in the village openly having affairs with several men.

Older men and women in the village freely talked about explicit topics. During the summer, women in the village would boldly go to the river for baths.

However, the younger generation was relatively shy. Jiang Liyun decided to adapt to the local customs for now.

Jiang Liyun might hang the laundry like this, and others indeed can’t see it, but when Feng Yi comes in and out of their house, it’s impossible for him not to see it.

When he saw his own pants being washed by Jiang Liyun, hanging together with her personal clothes, he was dumbfounded.

Although he never wore them, seeing this made his face burn up again.

Jiang Liyun noticed Feng Yi’s attitude and chuckled.

In her past life, Feng Yi always washed her clothes, but he wasn’t like this back then!

The young Feng Yi was indeed a bit innocent.

Seeing Jiang Liyun laugh, Feng Yi felt even hotter, so he thought about it, brought out the ladder and bamboo mat from the house, and helped to shield the area. This way, even if someone approached, they wouldn’t see anything.

Jiang Liyun: “…”

In the afternoon, Jiang Liyun took a nap as usual. When she woke up, Wu Xiaochun told her that Feng Yi had already gone to build the house.

“Feng Yi slaughtered the chicken before he left and hung it inside,” Wu Xiaochun said.

As soon as Jiang Liyun entered, she saw the chicken hanging on the beam.

These days, everyone really likes to hang things up.

Taking the chicken down from the beam, Jiang Liyun cut it into pieces.

Of course, the wings should be cut off, the breasts should be divided, and a few slashes should be made on the legs. After everything was cut, she marinated it with salt, cooking wine, and ginger slices.

Then she began to prepare the batter for frying the chicken.

In the past, there were many fried chicken recipes online. After making it many times, she had her favourite recipe.

Flour, starch, eggs, and salt were mixed in a certain proportion to make the batter, and a little sugar was added. The batter needed for fried chicken was ready.

In the past, she would also add seasoning like pepper powder, but she didn’t have it on hand now, so she simply omitted it.

Her family had never eaten anything good, and their stomachs were still lacking. Just frying the batter in the pan would make them think it was delicious, let alone that there was chicken inside!

Seeing that it was almost time, Jiang Liyun poured soybean oil into the small iron pot and started frying the chicken pieces.

Not long after the chicken pieces were put in, the enticing fragrance spread.

Jiang Liyun couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

Since she came over, she had been trying to improve her family’s food, but the fragrance of fried chicken was too tempting!

In this day and age, the allure of fried food is unbeatable!

Wu Xiaochun and Jiang Qianzi, seeing Jiang Liyun pouring so much oil into the pot, were just about to feel sorry for it when suddenly they caught a whiff of the dominant aroma of fried chicken. For a moment, both of them were stunned.

They rarely ate fried food; even a simple oil stick could make them happy for half a day. But now Jiang Liyun was frying chicken!

During this time, Wu Xiaochun and Jiang Qianzi enjoyed many delicious dishes.

They used to think pan-fried dumplings were the most delicious thing they had ever eaten, but now…

They hadn’t even tasted this fried chicken yet, and they could already imagine its deliciousness.

“Sis, what is this?” Jiang Liyu asked, swallowing saliva.

Jiang Liyun replied, “This is fried chicken.”

Jiang Liyun still remembered the stunning experience of eating fried chicken for the first time in her past life. High-calorie foods always brought joy to people.

In her past life, she loved eating fried chicken and was always chubby. Later, after Feng Yi passed away, she felt no appetite for anything.

And fried food was once her favourite.

“Sis, this fried chicken smells amazing.”

“As long as it’s fragrant.” Jiang Liyun smiled.

As they were talking, Jiang Lihai, Feng Yi, the bricklayer, and Uncle Jiang all arrived together.

Jiang Lihai went to work at the brick factory today, and after work, he hurried back home.

He used to dislike coming back, but now his house is under construction!

No matter how tired he is, he has to come back!

When they arrived at the new house, the bricklayer and Feng Yi had just finished work, so they walked back together.

Upon reaching home, Feng Yi immediately looked towards the laundry area, relieved only when he confirmed that Jiang Liyun’s personal clothes were not visible.

Others had different concerns. Jiang Lihai couldn’t help but ask Feng Yi, “What’s being fried at home? Why does it smell so good?”

Uncle Jiang and the bricklayer also turned their attention to Feng Yi, taking in a few extra breaths.

It was just too fragrant!

Feng Yi, now coming back to his senses, replied, “I don’t know…”

Because of the incident with Jiang Liyun buying clothes, he felt uneasy all day and didn’t talk much with her. He also didn’t know what she was planning for the evening.

But… It really smelled amazing!

As they entered together, they saw Jiang Liyun frying chicken pieces.

“You’re back.” Jiang Liyun smiled when she saw them. “Someone taught me a new way of cooking, so I tried it. Perfect timing for you to taste it.”

After saying that, Jiang Liyun gave a piece of fried chicken to the bricklayer and two pieces to Uncle Jiang.

“How can we accept this?” The bricklayer and Uncle Jiang started to decline. Such an oil-consuming dish couldn’t be cheap, right?

“There’s nothing to feel awkward about. Just taste it,” Jiang Liyun insisted.

Only then did the two accept the chicken and bid their farewells.

The bricklayer headed home with the fried chicken, planning to share it with his children. As for Uncle Jiang, as soon as he stepped out, his grandchildren hugged his legs, saying, “Grandpa, I want to eat something delicious!”

Uncle Jiang smiled and said, “Alright, alright, Grandpa will treat you to something delicious.”

At this moment, Jiang Lihai couldn’t resist saying, “Liyun, give me a piece to taste!”

Jiang Liyun took a bowl, placed a chicken wingtip and two pieces of fried chicken inside, and said, “Brother, this is yours. Once you finish, there won’t be any left.”

Jiang Lihai took the bowl, picked the smallest piece of fried chicken from inside, took a bite, and exclaimed, “This is too delicious! In my whole life, I’ve never eaten anything this tasty!”

Saying this, he devoured the piece of chicken entirely, even chewing the small bone inside.

After finishing, Jiang Lihai said, “I’ll be out for a while. Come back later, and you all can have dinner first.”

He rushed out in a hurry, and Jiang Liyun smiled at the scene.

It was evident that her brother genuinely liked He Chunlin—right now, he was probably taking fried chicken to her.

After sharing the fried chicken with Jiang Lihai, Jiang Liyun gave Jiang Liyu a fried chicken leg and two chicken wingtips.

Jiang Liyu always liked chicken wingtips.

The remaining fried chicken leg was given to Feng Yi, along with a chicken wing mid-joint.

As for herself, she had a chicken wingtip, a chicken wing mid-joint, plus a piece of chicken meat.

There was still a lot of chicken left, so she shared some with Jiang Qianzi and Wu Xiaochun, leaving a chicken neck for Jiang Lihai.

“Sister Liyun, you eat the chicken leg.” Feng Yi wanted to give the chicken leg to Jiang Liyun.

Jiang Liyun said, “I prefer chicken wingtips; smaller ones are more flavorful.”

Hearing this, Feng Yi didn’t insist, but when he took a bite of the chicken leg…

Unable to hold back, Feng Yi said something similar to Jiang Lihai: “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life!”

“Previously, when I gave you dumplings, you said the same thing.” Jiang Liyun laughed.

Feng Yi said, “Those were also the best! Sister Liyun, the things you make are the most delicious in the world!”